It remains remarkable: the composer behind countless well-known film scores, who even scored a number 1 hit here in 1992 with Conquest of paradise (which he wrote for the movie 1492: Conquest of paradise), could barely read music. Papathanasiou taught himself it all.
In his home country of Greece, he broke through in the 1960s through a number of progressive rock groups. With the band Aphrodite’s child, which also includes Demis Roussos, he scored hits all over Europe.
Oscar
Papathanasiou would become even more successful after that. Not as a solo artist, that career didn’t really take off. But as a composer of film music he made it to Hollywood and through that film metropolis the whole world got to know him. The music for Chariots of fire – a film that tells the story of two athletes competing in the 1924 Olympics – was used as the official theme for the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo and once again performed at the 2012 Summer Games in London by none other than mr. bean.
After the prestigious Oscar he received for this music, the Greek almost won again in 1983 at the Golden Globes, with his music for Blade runner, in which Rutger Hauer, among others, shone. His next worldwide success followed in 1995, when Conquest of paradise became a huge hit across Europe. In the Netherlands alone 100,000 singles were sold.
‘Anti-Success’
He himself remained unmoved about his fame and prestige because of those successes. “I’ve always been anti-success,” he said in a sparse 1985 American interview. and stuff. I have done nothing.” The reason: “I didn’t write that music to score a hit. I did that because I liked the people I worked with at the time.”
Although Vangelis was called ‘The Godfather of New Age’ by some, he didn’t like the term himself. New age, he said, was a style that “allowed untalented musicians to make really boring music.” The Greek played various instruments, but he became best known for his use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments. “I’m happy with that endless choice,” he once said. “Sound is sound, vibration is vibration, whether it comes from an electrical or an acoustic source.”
His death was confirmed by his law firm on Wednesday. No statement has yet been made about the cause, according to Greek media.